Patti Sapone/The Star-LedgerFBI agents and New Jersey State Troopers raid the home of Eliyahu Weinstein in Lakewood. Weinstein avoided spending time in Hudson County jail after his lawyer told a judge that an inmate demanded "protection" money.

A Lakewood developer accused of masterminding a $200 million fraud scheme was released on home confinement after his lawyer told the judge his client had a bad experience when he entered the Hudson County jail, the Star-Ledger reports.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Mark Falk, sitting in Newark, ordered Eliyahu Weinstein, 35,
to be confined to his home and tracked by a global positioning system while he awaits trial for the alleged $200 million fraud. His bail was set at $10 million.

Weinstein's lawyer, Ephraim Savitt, that on the day he arrived at Hudson County Correctional
Center in Kearny, Weinstein was confronted by a "gang member" who
demanded money to protect him while behind bars.

"I feel the judge gave my client the chance to collect his thoughts without
being in confinement and subject to extortion," Savitt said.